Full sun on seedlings?

I live in 8b so right now the days are 70-80 and the sun is pretty strong. What I did was use a paper towel in a plastic bag to get some hardy hibiscus to sprout. Well that went well in the ones that were in indirect sunlight. I put some in full sun (inside my house) and they are doing nothing. End result don't put them in the sun.

Next problem, I put them in into little pots and my question is are they ready for full sun or should I keep them out on my porch in indirect light? For that matter their in the house right now should I keep them inside until it gets warmer? Nights are still in the low 50's right now. I also have some MG's started with one, two leaves on them. Those ready for outside and full sun? MG's love the sun so I'm thinking that's what I should do with those.

You need to acclimate them to the sun gradually so that they won't burn. Even being in a sunny window inside the house is nowhere near as intense as sun outside. When you decide to put them outside, I would start by putting them on the porch in indirect light for a bit to get them used to outdoor temperatures and a little brighter light, then start putting them in more sun for an hour or two, and gradually increase the amount of time they spend in the sun until they're up to full sun. As far as inside or out....50 degree nights are pretty warm, if the seedlings are still really teeny I'd keep them inside until they get a little bigger (otherwise any slight mistake in the process of getting them used to the sun is more likely to be fatal) but if they're decent size they should be fine (again, you can try acclimating them gradually, put them out for a few hours in the evening and work your way up to leaving them out all night so they aren't shocked by the difference between 70 degrees indoors and 50 degrees outside)

Sounds like a lot of work, LOL. Think I'll put them out on the porch till they get a little bigger and then let them get some moring sun. They're very young, as in days old. Few more days inside then outside. The nights should be warming up to the 60's soon so I'm not worried about the heat or cold just the sun. This is sun burn season for the people around here. Lots of red faces and necks. Ye-haa

If they're that small yet I'd definitely be careful about sun exposure, larger seedlings can recover from a bit of sunburn, but little baby ones are less likely to. So I'd definitely wait until they're bigger before you start letting them see too much direct sun (I always keep mine inside under lights until they're a bit bigger)

If you have any seed left, you can sow them outdoors and avoid acclimation. That has always been a problem when sowing indoors - acclimatizing them afterwards without burning them or drying out and then there is transplant shock.

Personally, I start nearly all my sun loving plants outdoors in pretty much full sun. I don't have time to deal with moving in and out every day. You just have to take heed that the pots themselves don't get too hot so the soil doesn't cook the seeds. Keep them damp (not wet) and if you can put some type of insulation around the pots. Spray painting the outside of the pots white before using helps also.

I have a cheap old baker's rack (Big Lots special!) on my east facing porch. The house itself retains some heat (brick) from the day, so I can count a few extra degrees at night. I'll put the seedlings on the top shelf and slowly work them down towards the bottom shelf, by the time theyre' there, they are ready for a lot more direct sun. But I'd forget to bring them in and out, never mind the hassle.

HTH!

My Mg's are going out in the full sun tomorrow to fend for themselves. Think they have enough roots on them. My hardy hibiscus need some time to get going, I'm think drying out is more of a danger right now. When they get some decent roots going I'll put a try out in direct sunlight and see what happens.

You really need to work them up to full sun gradually, you'll probably be sorry otherwise. It has nothing to do with how much roots they have, it's about whether their leaves are used to being in the sun or not. If they're not used to it, the leaves will bleach out then shrivel up and fall off. Trust me, I've learned from experience! It's a pain doing it gradually, but I figure it's better than killing them and having to start over!

I've been putting the MG's out this week for a few hours at a time and today they were out since noon with no troubles.

Ack my peppers got burned today and they couldn't have been in the sun more than 20 minutes. I was trying so hard to keep a close eye on them and move the trays as needed but that old sun shifted when I wasn't looking. In that short time they wilted completely. I'm trying to tell myself they look a little better now but I guess I won't know 'till tomorrow how bad the damage is.

Ecrane3 is right y'all. You've got to acclimate those baby seedlings to sunlight very slowly.

ecrane you were almost right. The MG's were out most of the day and were looking a little rough by afternoon. Don't think they croaked on me but their not ready for a full days sun yet.

Well that's my project this year, get the hang of starting things from seeds. Going to try air layering this year too. I'm sure I'm missing something important on how to air layer but theres a first time for everything.